Self-evaluated ethical competence of a practicing physiotherapist: a national study in Finland

Abstract

Background: Patients have the right to equal, respectful treatment. Nowadays, one third of patient complaints concern health care staff's behavior towards patients. Ethically safe care requires ethical competence, which has been addressed as a core competence in physiotherapy. It has been defined in terms of character strength, ethical awareness, moral judgment skills in decision-making, and willingness to do good. The purpose of this study was to analyze the ethical competence of practicing physiotherapists. Method: A self-evaluation instrument (Physiotherapist's Ethical Competence Evaluation Tool) based on an analysis of a concept "ethical competence" was constructed in 2016 and physiotherapists (n = 839), working in public health services or private practice responded to the questionnaire. Results: Based on the results, most of the physiotherapists evaluated themselves highly ethically competent in all areas of ethical competence, subscales being Strength, Awareness, Skills and Will. Willingness to do good was evaluated as highest, while character strength, including the strength to support ethical processes and speak on behalf of the patient, was evaluated the lowest. Physiotherapists most commonly consult a colleague when encountering an ethical problem. Other methods for problem solving are not very familiar, neither are the international or national ethical codes of conduct. Conclusions: This was the first attempt to assess all aspects of ethical competence empirically in a clinical environment in physiotherapy, using a novel self-evaluation instrument. Even if physiotherapists evaluate themselves as competent in ethics, further exploration is needed for ethical awareness. Also the patients' viewpoints about ethically competent care should be considered, to better ensure ethical safety of the patient.

Professional values and perception of knowledge regarding professional ethics in physical therapy students: A STROBE compliant cross-sectional study

“…[42] In addition, it is recommended that PV education is delivered with more effective methods, because this reflects positively in patient care. [47] In this regard, the recent study of Kulju et al [19] showed that most of the physical therapists evaluated themselves highly ethically competent in all areas of ethical competence, subscales being strength, awareness, skills, and will. Willingness to do good was evaluated as highest, while character strength, including the strength to support ethical processes and speak on behalf of the patient, was evaluated the lowest.…”

“…[7] Therefore, during the last decades, normative descriptions of professional ethics have been published [8] and the body of literature examining physical therapy ethics has also increased. [5,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] In this line, ethics has been defined as a set of values and a skill that can be learned and enhanced through professional practice. [20] Therefore, health professionals must have values related to their profession to detect ethical issues and guide decision-making.…”

“Teach for ethics in palliative care”: a mixed-method evaluation of a medical ethics training programme

“…Our programme incremented also participants’ ethical competence. According to Guevara-Lòpez [ 37 ], ethical competencies are central elements for the development of palliative care, especially concerning truth-telling, which implies bidirectional trust between patients and healthcare providers [ 38 ].…”

Physiotherapy Students’ Experiences about Ethical Situations Encountered in Clinical Practices

“…Since physiotherapists encounter a variety of ethical challenges in their practice, ethical competence is needed to respond to those challenges [24]. Physiotherapists consider themselves competent in ethics, even if they are not very familiar with ethical codes or methods for ethical problem-solving [24].…”

“…Since physiotherapists encounter a variety of ethical challenges in their practice, ethical competence is needed to respond to those challenges [24]. Physiotherapists consider themselves competent in ethics, even if they are not very familiar with ethical codes or methods for ethical problem-solving [24]. Previous training in ES could help to develop ethical competence and to face these situations in the most suitable way, providing highquality healthcare [17,18].…”